Should I give the ring back?

Question

Five years ago a man asked me to marry him. I said yes. We resently broke up and he wants the ring back. Should I give it to him?

Answer 1

No, I am a guy, and when I gave my wife her engagement ring I understood it to be a gift. Ask yourself this: The moment he gave it to you, if you had said, "Is this for me?" What would he say:
"No, you can borrow it for a while." or " Of course, silly."
That should clear it up.

Answer 2

Yes, he gave you an engagement ring because he wanted to marry you. Since you do not want to marry him, you must give the ring back. That's the reason for giving the person an engagement ring. It's called and "engagement ring". It's not called "here's a ring as a gift, and oh, by the way, will you marry me?". You only get to keep if it you marry him. Do the right thing, give him his ring back.

Answer 3

Etiquette rules that you should (and the law will back him up if it goes to court). The engagement ring is a present hinging on an agreement. Should you get married, the ring is yours because you fulfilled your end of the bargain and married him. If you break up before the wedding, you are obliged to give him back the ring to do with it whatever he pleases, as you did not fulfill your obligations. The law does not care who broke it off. Either way, if he takes you to court, they will rule in his favor.

Answer 4

YES! THE ring is a symbol for the couples never ENDING LOVE and yours ended. If its over then just give him the ring back! You will find another man later on to buy you a ring! LOL seriously though good luck!

Answer 5

If you were to go on Judge Judy (this has happened on the show more than a few times) she will tell you that an engagement ring is not a gift, it is something given to you with the understanding that you will be getting married. If you don't get married, the ring goes back to him.

Answer 6

the giving of the ring symbolizes a intent to make a contract. Sort of like a intent to buy in business. You accepted the offer.
If he breaks it off - keep the ring
If you break it off - give back the ring

Why did you wait five years for a marriage. It sounds like he never intended to marry you he just didn't want anyone else tipping in his spot while he was having fun.

Answer 7

YES, you should give it back. An engagement ring represents a promise to marry. If the marriage doesn't take place you don't keep the ring. If he took you to court and sued you any judge in the land would give it back to him.
Plus it is just the right thing to do.

Answer 8

Who broke it off ? Him then No , You then YES .That would be how , if it were to become a court matter . Because it was given with an agreement . If you broke the agreement , it's his again . If he broke the agreement , it would be of not fault of yours therefore you would keep the " down payment of the arrangement .I know a guy that won the ring back and she paid all legal cost per court order .

Answer 9

If someone gave me something as a symbol of togetherness or a special 'bond' and the bond later broke apart, I 'd give it back if the other person wanted it. Keeping it would (to me) be another symbolic gesture that I don't agree with the breakup and I will always (genuinely) maintain a special love for that person. Without that, it sort of has a gold digger aura about it. To me, anyway.

Answer 10

If you broke it off, give it back. If he broke it off, you keep it. If it was mutual . . . well, I don't know. But do you really want the ring from a man you no longer love?

And, no, the ring was not a gift. It was to seal the engagement "contract".

Answer 11

Well I guess it all depends on the person. Some people look at it like a keepsake or a reminder of the relationship. Some people give it back because it reminds them of the relationship then it ends up being to much, some people give it back just to be polite. I think if he asks for it then give it back definitely. If not then I guess you should ask him, he may want you to keep it.